Oregon Leads Charge To Stop Trump Tariffs Driving Up Grocery and Medical Costs for Families

Oregon Attorney General (AG) Dan Rayfield says tariffs are a tax on working Oregonians. Yesterday, Rayfield filed a multi-state lawsuit to block President Trump’s illegal tariffs.

The lawsuit challenges four of Trump’s executive orders (EOs), claiming he has the power to increase tariffs worldwide without congressional action.

Oregon Moves To Block Trump Tariffs That Drive Up Prices

The Federal Reserve and International Monetary Fund project that this round of tariffs will cause inflation. Studies show that Americans pay 95 percent of the cost of the Trump tariffs issued in his first term. Rayfield said the tariffs hit every corner of Oregonian’s lives– from the checkout line to the doctor’s office.

According to experts, the tariffs will raise the cost of living for the average family in Oregon by over $3,800 a year, effectively imposing a sales tax on citizens of the state- which Oregonians have voted down for years.

The lawsuit, State of Oregon et al. v. Trump et al., is led by Oregon AG Rayfield and Arizona AG Kris Mayes.

The attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont also joined the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging Trump’s executive orders calling for higher tariffs on most products worldwide including a 145 percent tariff on most products from China, a 25 percent tariff on most products from Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent tariffs on most products from the rest of the world.

The lawsuit also challenges Trump’s planned tariff increase on imports from 46 other trading partners on July 9.

Only Congress has the “Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises” under Article I of the Constitution.

Although the EOs cite powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), these only apply when an emergency presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad. IEEPA, enacted by Congress in 1977,  does not give the President the power to impose tariffs.

Rayfield said, “When a president pushes an unlawful policy that drives up grocery store prices and spikes utility bills, we don’t have the luxury of standing by—especially when so many Oregonians live on fixed incomes. We have a responsibility to push back.”